Terminator: Dawn of Peace
by J W James
Summary: The Terminators have stopped attacking and a new cyborg is sent to offer peace to the humans but John Connor does not trust them. It is just weeks before he must send Kyle Reese back to save his mother and this is not a dilema he wants to face right now.


Terminator: Dawn of Peace

Prologue

John Connor sat at his makeshift desk in the small room that he shared with his wife and four children. There were scant furnishing and blankets served as walls to give them some privacy from the kids, but other than that, it was just a little room in an underground bunker, like those that most everyone else there occupied. He tinkered with an old watch, replacing the battery with one that he'd found in another old watch, which surprisingly still worked. Though most members of the resistance had no need for things like watches or calendars, it was a necessity to John. Time weighed heavily on him, as there were things that had to go according to plan. The day was rapidly approaching when he would have to send Kyle Reese, his friend and father, back in time if he was to save his mother.

He had hoped that the war would be over by now, that somehow Skynet would have fallen but there was no such luck. He had looked at every possible scenario that would keep him from sending Kyle to his death but Kate, his wife, warned him not to try. He had to see the event through to fruition or history would be altered and there would be no John Connor to lead the human resistance. Without John Connor, the machines would win. That, he could never allow.

"You wanted to see me, John?" Kyle asked from the doorway.

John felt a mixture emotions flow into him as they always did at the sound of that voice. It had been hard to keep it all a secret from the man who would become his father, but John did what he had to do. Memories of that night, eleven years ago came rushing back to him. He saw Kyle, just a boy then, standing in front of him at Skynet Central. With those memories came his guilt, the guilt of a man who knew he was going to be responsible for another man's death. He felt as if every day was another day of betrayal. And then, as fast as it began, it was gone. They were soldiers and had to do what must be done. This was not about self-preservation but about saving the rest of humankind. That was what he told himself. That was how he would get past it but it would never make it right. Not in his eyes.

"Come in Kyle," he said, not looking at the man. "There have been a few developments that I'd like to talk to you about."

Kyle came into the room and grabbed one of the chairs that sat against the far wall. He never waited for John to tell him to sit. There was never that sort of military protocol between these two men, though Reese never questioned anything John told him to do. They shared some sort of bond that had been with them since their first meeting but no matter how curious it was, neither man ever spoke of it. John, of course knew what it was but could never tell Kyle Reese. Doing so might alter the past and that could not be risked.

"The attacks are slowing," John said. "I'm getting reports from our patrols that they are having trouble locating Terminators."

"Maybe Skynet is winding down," Reese said, "machines break."

"I think Skynet is planning something big," John replied, finally turning to face Kyle. "I can't see any other reason to hold its units back. In twenty-five years, they've never stopped, never really slowed. There has to be a reason for them to do it now. They are plotting."

John knew the truth. It had been twenty years longer than that. It was nineteen eighty-four when the first terminator showed up and tried to kill his mother. It was not much longer than that before the second came and tried to kill him and only a few more years until Judgment Day.

"Maybe they finally figured it out, John," Kyle said.

"Figured what out?" John asked, the aggravation leaving his voice.

"You just said yourself that we've been at war for twenty-five years and they've yet to defeat us," Kyle said. "Maybe they've realized that they can't win. Maybe they're just stopping."

John looked at Kyle. He could not believe what the other man was saying. "You of all people should know that would never happen, Kyle," John said, anger filling his voice. "The machines are out there. They can't be bargained with! They can't be reasoned with! Skynet doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And they absolutely will not stop, ever, until we're all are dead!"

"Look, John, I was just…" Kyle began.

"Fight nice, boys," Kate interrupted as she entered the room, both children in tow.

"I'm sorry, Kyle," John said as the kids ran to him and hugged his legs. "I'm just trying to figure out what Skynet could be up to."

"No offense taken, John." Kyle said, standing up. "I'll talk to some of the squad leaders and go over all the reports myself if you want. Maybe we can figure something out."

"Yeah," said John, "that's what I was going to ask you to do, anyway."

"You've got it, John," Kyle said, before nodding to Kate and exiting the room.

"What was that about?" Kate asked, when Kyle was gone. "I could hear you shouting all the way down the corridor."

John knelt and hugged his children. They were the younger of four, Jack and Katie. His oldest, Sarah and Michael, who were named after his and Kate's parents were in class, learning how to fight the terminators. It was a requirement that john had seen to just after they were born. Any child of ten years or older must learn to fight. They were the future and they needed to know what they were up against.

Besides Kate, they were the only things in the entire world that could bring a smile to his face. He wanted this war to end for them, to give them a future that didn't involve constant death. "It was nothing, Kate," he lied, knowing that she would ask him about again later. "We were just talking."

"Did you tell him?" she asked.

"No," John said. "As much as I want to, I'll never be able to tell him. He'll never know why he is so important."


End file.
